ASD Research Proposal Paper

Children with ASD develop differently from other children. They must overcome challenges in interacting and communicating with others. These challenges can affect their development, learning and future trajectories of their lives. This diagnosis is particularly difficult on low income families and minority groups as well as for parents with low educational attainment and those living in rural areas who may not have the financial means, suitable knowledge or access to resources to care for their children’s needs.

There is little research to examine experiences and needs of individuals with ASD, or proper and effective support systems such as educational and family support needed for young adults making this transition. Most information that is provided on this topic is based on professional’s experience and knowledge. It is essential more research is provided to develop programs to help individuals transition from secondary education to higher

Roger Evans is a 5-year-old enrolled in general education kindergarten classes. Roger has been identified as having ASD during a routine check-up at the age of three. Roger’s parents had been unemployed and receiving government aid. Roger’s parents have not been taking advantage of supportive resources. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have not informed the school that Roger has been identified as having ASD. During the first week, Roger’s teacher Ms. Moore observed Roger sporadically sitting by himself during lunch and recess rocking back and forth and hitting himself in the face. Ms. Moore also noticed that Roger was anti-social with his peers. Ms. Moore recorded her observations for two weeks. Roger’s behavior became a daily occurrence. Ms. Moore met with the principal, counselor, special education, and Roger’s parents to discuss her concerns. Roger’s parents admitted that Roger had been identified with ASD and has been fine at home.

I would like to learn the proper terminology for the school and building a positive social culture promoting social and academic success for each student, ASD and non-ASD. I understand student with ASD learn and think differently. If the school systems can integrate the proper strategies I believe behavior of the ASD students

If students with ASD are not taught social emotional skills they will be greatly effected as adults. Research done has suggested that adults with ASD will often experience social isolation. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of these adults have no close friendships, and in the cases where friendships do occur they are often less close and less supportive than friendships had by adults in the general population (Orsmond, Shattuck, Cooper, Sterzing, and Anderson 2013). Studies have been done in Canadian and European populations and have found that fewer than half of adults with ASD participate in social events in the community such as attending church or special interest groups that would provide social opportunities (Orsmond, Shattuck,

The community night program for the adults with ASD will focus on social skills in real-life settings and possible job preparation for those who qualify. This session will also include adult community volunteers. They will be leading programs that will encourage participation in real-life social settings, that involve spoken language. If these adults with ASD are rehearsed and practiced in life like settings, they will become more prepared to face the same situations in the real world. Depending on the severity of the adult with ASD they will be placed in a specific group, they will also be monitored to find out what activities they are mostly interested in. The first half of the session will focus on life skills. These will include classes on self-care, safety procedures, and home economics, to provide the opportunity for them to become as independent as possible. For the adults with ASD who qualify to receive job

The common traits of ASD, which include anti-social and often disruptive patterns of behavior, can make children with autism challenging for typical learning children to approach. Though the issue of including children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is a complex one, peer-mediated interventions can promote the growth of social skills at every level of education. By educating the general population of typical peers and empowering them to be a part of the process a dent can be made in the social exclusion often experienced by the ASD children in mainstream settings. Implementing these interventions enriches the lives of all of the children involved, “possibly developing sustainable social relationships” expanding the effects of the program beyond the academic setting (Hughes et al., 2013). Also, these methods provide teachers an unobtrusive method of teaching that has benefits for the entire class. These methods could be helpful to other student populations that have intellectual

A recent study investigated the challenges and support needs of students with ASD in postsecondary education (Hees, Moyson, & Roeyers, 2015). The first challenge the researchers found were that the students with ASD struggled with the new situations and unexpected changes in college. These students found it very difficult to oversee the large amount of new information and choices they had to make. They are leaving behind what is familiar and transitioning into something completely new, which is not

Students with autism spectrum disorder show benefits from being educated in general education classrooms with interactions with typically developing peers. However, behaviors exhibited by students with ASD often lead them back to segregated special education settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a simple peer support intervention on minor, disruptive, off-task behaviors of three elementary students with high functioning ASD from three different classrooms.

Another method that is commonly used as an intervention for students with ASD is the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). ESDM is an inclusive behavioral intervention for infants to preschool-aged children (Dawson et al., 2009; Vivanti et al., 2014). The learning objectives are based on individual strengths and weaknesses, with a focus on developmental fields that are foundational to social and social-cognitive learning and development (Vivanti et al., 2014). The students with ASD work to enhance their verbal and nonverbal communication, emotion sharing, imitation, joint attention, play, social orienting, and attention (Rogers et al., 2012).

There is a wide range and much controversy surrounding the study and overall effectiveness of different interventions for children and adolescents possessing a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, regardless of the method of intervention, every intervention shares the common goal which focuses on improving functioning in one or a combination of the following areas: social, communication, behavior, and academic. Social functioning includes interaction with peers and others, engagement and appropriate participation in activities, while communication refers to goals of “effectively signaling information to a social partner” i.e. utilizing and recognizing aspects of communication such as requesting, labeling, expressive language, speech, pragmatics, etc. (Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative, 2012). With respect to the behavioral domain of treatment, effective intervention seeks to result in an increase of individuals engaging in the positive, adaptive skills to respond to a situation, person, or environment. Finally academic refers to skills that are required for success with school activities (Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative, 2012). Focus in these areas of functioning assists in guiding treatment goals and provides a guideline of what to measure in order to gauge the effectiveness of treatment.

As the number of students with ASD increases in the general education population, teachers often seek information for the most effective interventions in working with this population. Bonds et al. (2016) compiled a review of the literature regarding articles for considering education utility for interventions for students with ASD. The three interventions identified for having the most evidence for school-aged children included social skills interventions, behavioral interventions, and peer-mediated interventions. Peer-mediated interventions were the largest category and all studies involved 5- to 14- years-old students attending mainstream school systems. Interventions included lunchtime clubs with students with ASD and their peers sharing common interests, or direct teaching groups meeting for one to two sessions

After eleven intervention sessions, he was interacting, verbally and non-verbally, with his companions seven percent of the time (Gena, 2006). The interventions are not just effective for young children; a physical education instructor in a high school study observed that post-interventions the target children were more likely to, "...socialize with their peers more than with the aide” (Hughes et al., 2013, p.11). Using methods such as peer-to-peer, small group or class-wide interactions enriches the ASD child’s school experience by teaching them social skills in a natural environment and allowing them to make meaningful connections with their classmates while learning which behaviors are appropriate.

Over the past years, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders has increased rapidly and so have the development of strategies to help children with ASD to acquire milestones in classroom settings. The prevalence of children being diagnosed with ASD is 1 in 68 children in the United States. The causes of Autism are not well known, however, research studies suggest that causes of ASD may include neurological, heredity and genetic mutations, and environmental influences. Characteristics of children with ASD include lack of delay in spoken language, peer relationships and pretend play; fixation on objects and repetitive use of language are as well characteristics children with Autism may display. Professionally, ASD is characterized as

Children with AS often have behavioral and emotional problems connected to their deficient social skills. These often involve feelings of stress or loss of control (Myles & Simpson, 2002) and these behaviors can range from simply annoying to highly disruptive behaviors (Safran et al., 2003). In order to help students with AS, interventions must be used that target improving social understanding rather than trying to change certain behaviors in certain situations. Improving the social understanding can be addressed by teaching appropriate social skills. These social skills may include problem solving, conversation skills, anger control, identifying and managing feelings, dealing with stress, and organizational skills. A school psychologist may assist by providing direct social skill instructions to the student and training parents and teachers in strategies to use. Some of these strategies include social stories, comic strip conversations, and social autopsies. In addition, teaching students the “hidden curriculum” or “unwritten rules of conduct” are important parts of social skills teaching